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Current Online Exhibits & Target Audiences

(http://www.warmuseum.ca/war-of-1812/) This site is very straightforward, it combines simple graphics with last colours and small amounts of text. This website is somewhat interactive but almost seems confusing as you don’t really know what different sections are for. The footer for this page stands out really nicely as it is a lighter flat colour, that contains four elements, a quote, social interaction & two logos. While It doesn’t try and sell you something because it is just a virtual exhibition, there is still less content that other sites for actual exhibitions.

(http://amhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/exhibition/flash.html) Is a really good website, complete with information, graphics, animations and interactivity it allows for a good user experience. There is a lot of clickable content but this can almost seem cluttered and somewhat turns it into a bad user experience. Typography and colours seem to have been seriously considered when making this site, each war has it’s own style and colour set but stays with the same general theme. I believe that because there is so much content available that it wouldn’t intrigue the user to want to visit the actual museum/gallery itself. The content of the site actually tells the entire story along with photographs of the artefacts that you would usually go to the gallery to visit, this makes a trip to the gallery almost pointless unless you particularly wanted to see it in person.

(http://www.nam.ac.uk/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/waacs-war) This website is very straightforward, it is all contained within one page, if you want more content you simply click on another number along the bar and it will slide across. The colours are simple and flat, which allows the user to focus on the content. I found this to boring and dull, and I think this was due to its simplicity and lack of interactivity.

(http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2013/isagenzken/) I really liked this website for it’s overall design. There is great interactivity with the menu where it is out of sight until you click on it and it becomes fullscreen, the are different colours which change and become boxed in if you hover over them. This is simple and effective as it then stands out of the crowd and because something you enjoy using. Each page is dedicated to a different part of the exhibition which works really well because the majority of text is one page whilst the images are contained on another meaning the user can view what they want.

The target audience for a museum is very diverse, it attracts people from all ages, genders and class. This means defining the target audience is very difficult,

In terms of creating an exhibition site for a museum i know I need to focus my attention on attracting new customers without alienating existing customers, this can be done and I found the “Marketing of Art Museums” by Robert C. Blattberg and Cynthia J. Broderick that explains a lot of relevant information. This article dates back to 1991 and so is out of date with the web now in place on desktops, tablets and mobiles, this shouldn’t be an issue as some of the key concepts will still apply.

“There are two distinct types of audiences that art museums can target. The first is the group of potential donors, who often become members and are more likely to become heavily involved in museum activities. This group is small, will generate far more revenue and profits to the museum, and appreciates the current types of exhibits the museum offers.

The second type of audience is the general public, who attend museums to be entertained and to be educated. Few will ever become donors of works of arts nor will they become major financial benefactors. However, they occasionally become members and often spend money at the museum store and restaurant.”

From this statement, it is easy to understand that there multiple benefits a museum can take from their audience. These are donors of material and people who are willing to participate in events for the museum, this can be done through volunteer work. Also, more commonly the general public who spend money in the shop and cafe, I must be targeting the design of the site cause enough intrigue for people to want to visit the museum.

Therefore, understanding who the target audience is vital and while I am mean’t be basing my website around an exhibition some sites are simply to inspire action against a particular organisation. I would like to do both, meaning the viewer is intrigued enough to visit the exhibition but also then wants to do something about what they have seen. This will capitalise on every single person that first views the page. They view the page, pay for the exhibition, fight for the cause of the exhibition and then also further spread the word about the exhibition. This would be the most profitable, attention gaining, way for an exhibition to gain traction with the public by creating a ‘movement’ that has the purpose of both profitable gain and creating awareness.